Littleton, an employee at a local Rent-A-Center who frequently communicated with Shaleena Hamilton, had been calling the family’s home for days when her son Bryan, 4, finally picked up on Dec. 4 and told Littleton he couldn’t wake his mother up, USA Today reports. Littleton went to the family’s home and found that Hamilton had collapsed.

“He did what we ask everyone to do,” Buffalo Police Lt. Steve Nichols said of Littleton.“And in this case, it’s a little boy who was sitting at home drinking milk and maple syrup for two days, and he may have stayed there longer had Taijuan not showed up at the house.”